Windows Media Player

I can give you some options to try. For windows, you can download a free program called Foobar2000. It does look a little dated but it is very feature rich and reliable. Some may perfer other programs, but you should be able to get everything you need with Foobar. I'm not a big Windows fan and use Linux on a daily basis and Windows only when I must. Linux may be a very good option for you as well. It is very ease and simple to demo. Try this: Go to Distrowatch.com. Scroll down until you get to a list of 100 top linux distro's on the right side of the screen. Pick the one that say Mint. (It should be 1 or 2 on the list.). Go into mint and select the newest stable version of Mint 12 KDE and download it. If you get a choice between CD or DVD, chose DVD because you will get more apps. Once you download and burn the iso to a dvd, boot your system up from it. (Make sure your computer is set up to boot from CD/DVD.) At this point, you will be able to run the distro "live". This means nothing is changed or installed on your computer. The OS runs from the CD and RAM only. When you are done using it, take the CD out and reboot to go back to windows. I believe the app you get for music is Amarok. I would give it a try; you might like it (and the OS as well). If you really like it, you have the option to do a full install and run it next to windows. If you chose to try any of this, let us know what you think.

Almarg,

Your post provides a lot of really useful tips. I have a question that you might know the answer to. Have you ever tried any type of line conditioner with a computer and external drives? Given that computers are not really made for high end audio, I can't help but think that it may make a substantial improvement.

I have something here that you may want to try. In a previous post, I recommend that you give Linux a try because a lot of people (including myself) seem to be having good results with regards to sound quality. Instead of going about it the way I mentioned in my first post, you may want to check this link out instead.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/How-Linux-Ubuntu-1004-1104-and-DeaDBeef

This link takes you to a guide on how to get the best sound from Linux. It was put together by an audiophile that uses Linux and wanted to achieve the best results. Basically, you get a very detailed walk through starting with downloading and installing linux OS. After the install it goes into how to configure the OS for the best sound quality possible. Once that is done it gives instructions on downloading, installing and configuring an audio player for best sound just like with the OS.

From what I can see, nothing is left to chance. There are a lot of small steps involved but the instructions are very clear; a beginner should have no problems working through the process. I can't comment on sound quality because I just went through it myself. Also, I was reading through some of your posts where you are concerned about system performance. Linux uses FAR less system resources than both Windows and Mac. Anyway, I hope this info can help you out in some way.